


Chosen

by evilwriter37



Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Collars, Crying, Gen, Kidnapped, Pick who dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:55:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26771026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilwriter37/pseuds/evilwriter37
Summary: Hiccup and his friends are captured by Dagur, and Hiccup has to choose which one of them will die.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947739
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Chosen

Hiccup looked around desperately, trying to think of a way out. He was so good at getting out of situations like this, but his brain wasn’t working right, fried from panic and fear and dread. He would have yanked at the collar restraining him, but his hands were tightly tied behind his back. He’d been forced to his knees, and now he had no choice in this. No choice at all. 

“Please! I’ll do anything!” Hiccup begged. His friends were lined up in front of him, each with a crossbow pointed at them. And Dagur had told Hiccup that he had to choose who would die. “ _ Anything! _ ” 

“But I don’t want just anything, Hiccup,” Dagur said. He held the rope attached to his collar. Gods, this was so degrading. How had Hiccup gotten into this situation? How had he gotten his friends into it? “I want you to choose who dies.”

Hiccup shook his head, tears flowing freely. “I can’t, I can’t!” How was he supposed to choose which of his friends would die? They all meant something vitally important to him. He loved each of them so much. He couldn’t just pick who to die! He looked at Dagur, tears blurring his vision. “ _ Please!  _ What else do you want from me? Why are you doing this?!”

“Because I thought it would be a fun game,” Dagur said. “This is all I want from you. I had to watch my men die and be tortured in prison because of you. Now you get to feel some of that pain.”

“ _ No! _ ”

Dagur put a hand on Hiccup’s head, wrenched it back towards his friends, who were all crying quietly. “ _ Yes _ .”

“H-help me,” Hiccup said to his friends. “Please help me.”

But they couldn’t. They were all stuck themselves, tied up tightly, crossbows pointed at them. No one had any chance of getting out of this. 

“Hiccup, let it be me,” Snotlout said tearfully. 

“No!” Tuffnut cried. “Me!”

“No, me!” Ruffnut exclaimed. “I’m not going anywhere without my brother!”

“No, no, Hiccup, let it be me,” Fishlegs chimed in.

“Everybody shut up!” Astrid yelled. There was fierce anger in her eyes. She met Hiccup’s gaze. “It has to be me.”

“Astrid, no!”

“Who do you choose, Hiccup?” Dagur asked. 

Hiccup couldn’t do this. His chest was caving in. He looked down at the floor of the ship, then at each of his friends. They all looked resigned to this. One of them would die for him. That was how much they loved him.

Snotlout… had been the first to speak up.

Oh gods, Hiccup’s heart was breaking into a million pieces. He didn’t think he would ever recover from this.

“S-Snotlout,” Hiccup spluttered. 

There was no time for him to think, to take it back. The crossbow clicked, the bolt flew, and pierced Snotlout in the chest. He went down with a cry, and Hiccup screamed in pure agony, like he felt the bolt in his chest too. He was sure that he did. 

Dagur cut the ropes binding his hands, let go of the rope restraining him, and let him rush over to Snotlout, the collar still in place. Everyone had now gathered around him, wanting to be there with him.

“Snotlout, Snotlout, no! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Hiccup wailed. His friend was down on the floor, blood pouring from his wound. It had pierced his heart. He wasn’t going to make it. 

Hiccup laid his head over Snotlout’s. His eyes were open, staring, but almost sightlessly.

“Hiccup?”

Hiccup met Snotlout’s gaze.

“It’s… it’s okay,” Snotlout said. “You made the right choice.”

“No, no! Snotlout, I love you!”

“It’s okay.” Snotlout coughed, blood coming to on his lips. “I love you too.”

Then he went limp and all breath left him. 

Hiccup screamed.

  
  


Dagur let them return to Berk after. He saw no point in holding them captive now that Hiccup had felt some of his pain. Hookfang bore Snotlout’s body back, and Hiccup couldn’t imagine how the dragon was feeling. Heartbroken like him, probably. Hiccup felt like he hadn’t been able to stop crying since the incident. Tears just wouldn’t stop leaving him. His chest wouldn’t stop hurting. 

Why did Snotlout tell him he’d made the right choice? Had he felt like he was right? Had he felt like he was worthless and this was the only way to prove his worth? Hiccup would never know, and it was eating him alive. 

Once on Berk, it was hard delivering the news to everyone, especially Snotlout’s family. He could tell that they, especially Spitelout, blamed him for it. It was his fault though, wasn’t it? He’d been told to choose who would die, and he’d chosen Snotlout. Hiccup felt horrible about himself. He told himself that he’d only chosen Snotlout because he’d been the first to speak up, but what if there was something else? What if Hiccup hadn’t gotten over all those years of bullying and this was his way of enacting revenge? What if he hadn’t really liked Snotlout?

But no, those thoughts were stupid. He  _ had  _ liked Snotlout. He’d loved him, the way he loved each of the Dragon Riders. He’d only chosen him because he’d been the first to speak up, not for any other, horrible reason. Hiccup wasn’t a bad person.

But oh Odin, he felt like one. He felt like the worst person there was. This was his fault. It was his fault for bringing his friends with him to confront Dagur, it was his fault Snotlout was dead. He’d said the words to kill him. He’d chosen him. And now he was gone. 

At night, Hiccup could still hear the click of the crossbow and feel the collar around his neck. And see Snotlout’s sightless eyes staring back up at him. 


End file.
